Sonic: Time Stone Anomaly
by rraduanin12
Summary: When a Time Stone has been discovered after years of laying dormant, Sonic The Hedgehog, along with his best friend and a new ally just can't resist the urge to go out on an adventure to find it! Just a good old Sonic adventure with a few twists and turns along the way. Heavily inspired by the first Sonic Adventure, and the Indiana Jones series.
1. Chapter 1: Are you ready for more?

It was just a regular morning in the small, but dense Emerald Town. Flickies were chirping, and there wasn't anything out of the ordinary that could disturb the regular peace. As the sun rose over the Hill Top mountain, everyone was running from place to place, looking to start their day. One of the places that surely attracted a lot of people was a simple food truck, with line after line of people waiting to get a fresh meal. On top of the truck was a big eye-catching sign that read "Ray the Squirrel's Fresh Food Parlour".

"N' then I told the guy: "I'm outta here!", said one of the voices of the people in that crowd.

"I know, Sonic, I know", someone replied.

Waiting in line just like everyone else were a blue hedgehog with red, dirty sneakers and his friend, an orange fox cub with, strangely enough, two tails.

"C'mon already! I don' have all day here, y'know?", said Sonic, tapping his foot impatiently. "I've got places to run to, things to do!"

He was always like this. Losing his cool whenever something took too long and whenever he was forced to take it slow.

"Wow, calm down Sonic!", said Tails. It's not like you've got a job to do! Those people do, so how about we cut them some slack?"

"Fine, fine!", said Sonic as he crossed his arms.

It wasn't long until Sonic was facing the window of the RV truck, looking right at his old friend Ray.

"Hey yo Ray! Y'already know the deal! Two chili dogs n' a nice glass o' Chao Cola!"

"Coming right up, my dude!", said Ray, ready to fetch him his stuff.

"So, y'got any new rumors, man?", said Sonic, not giving a damn about the fact that his friend was busy making his order. He placed an elbow on the window's frame, leaning in.

"Oh, you're gon' love this, Sonic!", the yellow squirrel replied, as he ran from place to place to prepare the chili dogs. "Just about a couple of minutes ago I heard some...I dunno...geologists or somethin'...talk about trackin' one of the 7 time stones! I think they were from the...Mobian Institute of Gemology! But anyways, can yo…."

"Heh, it's nice to see one o' this doo-hickeys finally end up in some good folk's hands! Well, what's it gotta do with me likin' it?", he replied.

"Lemme finish, pal!", said the squirrel, focused on his cooking more than the conversation. "They've set up excavations down at Mystic Ruins! Get this, they're gonna give out a biiiig cash reward to whoever finds it...if ya do before 'em!"

"It sounds like real fun! But y'know...the money don't interes-"

"Sonic, don't you get it?", said Tails cutting his best friend off. "The money's gonna help me with my inventions from now on! We have to go get it!"

"Tails, Tails, Tails! Always gotta think about the cash! When 're you gonna understand that in the grand scheme o' things, money'll only get you so far….Ya gotta start valuing what's truly happenin' around you….Y'know, feel the moment n' whatnot!"

The two of them stood at a table, and as they eat up, Tails pulls out a map of the old Mystic Ruins. He unfolds it on the table, as Sonic nearly spills his Chao Cola on the table.

"Alright, Sonic! This is how we're gonna go about it! If we go by the 11:30 AM train, we're gonna arrive at the Mystic Ruins at about….3 in the afternoon!"

Sonic yawns. "Almost 4 hours? Geez...I could make that trip n' back in less than one! And that's on a light jog! How's about we race on foot-or...on tails?!"

Tails laugh a bit. "Yeah, that would be nice. But you gotta remember that you're still hydrophobic, and I don't want to be worrying about you falling into the water as you race across the sea.

While they were talking about their plan, a dire wolf in a brown trenchcoat and cotton patching on the inside approached them, taking a seat without thinking twice. He had overheard them, enough for her to take an interest.

She coughed. "Excuse me!", she said.

They both turned their heads towards her.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but hear what you two were talking about!", she continued. "I really have to ask: you do know how caves themselves are quite the dangerous place. You do know that there are wild animals roaming around, and the whole thing could collapse at the smallest earth quake! How are you two going to manage?"

"Heh, well, what'cha gotta know about me, Wolfie, is that I ain't one to worry myself with complicated plans n' stuff like that! What's the thrill in it? I just like to rush in, n' do things my way!", replied Sonic, clearly having the intention to boast himself.

"I'm just curious about how you guys can make it through a cave that's probably unexcavated without any experience with speology!"

"Hey, Sonic might not be a strategist…", said Tails, "...but surprisingly, he's a really lucky guy! And not one to just turn away when things get tough!"

"Yeah, and if ya ain't convinced by Tails' word, why not stick around n' see for yourself?", Sonic continued.

"Hm, color me impressed!", the wolf continued. "Sure, why not?"

"Heh, glad to see someone else with a sense o' adventure! Glad you're stickin' around...uh…"

"Oh! Well, my name's Lyrene Goldluck! I'm a merchant, and I do some adventuring from time to time!"

Sonic leaned back in his chair, placing his feet on the table.

"Now that's my kinda lifestyle!", he said, completely ignoring Ray, who was going out of his way to scream and scold him for sitting like that.

"Okay, so it's settled then!", said Tails, eager to get going already.

"More than settled, bud!", said Sonic. "We're gon' find that gem usin' the real super power of team work!"

 **And so, with these inspirational words to inspire our heroes, they set off to the Mystic Ruins, ready to find whatever challenge is waiting for them.**


	2. Chapter 2: Cradle of an untampered past

"Sonic! Get off the train, man!", said Tails, looking out the train's window in horror at his friend.

"Oh, c'mon Tails! Don't be a buzzkill! This is suu-uper fun!"

As the grey metallic train was speeding along the tracks on it's way to the ruins, the passengers would look in awe and disgust as a blue hedgehog was pretty much resting on top of the train, some even believing it was asleep. He clearly couldn't be bothered to take a seat inside, like everyone else.

"Sonic, get off right now!", said Tails, suddenly taking on a serious tone, as of a parent that is scolding their kid. "Everyone's looking at us!"

"N' sit down n' look out the window like everybody else? Sheesh, you're more borin' than I thought, buddy! No thank you!", responded Sonic.

"Uhh...is he always like this?", said Lyrene.

Tails would sigh. "Yeah….that's Sonic….Always trying to be a show-off. I know he likes to hang out in the outdoors, but this is taking it too far!"

"Well, let's get him off o' there! He's gonna get himself hurt!", said the dire wolf.

Tails would place a hand in front of her, stopping the dire wolf. "It's no use, Lyrene. Sonic's just...Sonic. Free to speak his own mind and do his own thing. Just leave him be. Even if I try to say something about it, like earlier, it would just fall on deaf ears"

Sonic would have a huge grin on his face, as he held onto the roof of the train. "What could be better than the feeling of the wind blowing through your quills?", he thought. It was soothing, and it calmed him more than anything. It made him feel alive, and that was the only thing Sonic ever wanted out of life. He kept looking up at the sun, shining and shimmering. It was a beautiful feeling, as he felt his mind slowly drift away, as his vision became blurry and more blurry. He fell asleep.

"Ow, ow, OW!", he screamed. He put his hands on his head, as he possibly suffered a concussion. In front of him, he could see his friend Tails reaching a hand out for him. He got up, and he felt the ground under him as being grass, not the steel shell of a locomotive.

"You see what happens when you try to do things your own way, Sonic?", Tails said.

"Just...what the hell happened?", Sonic said, getting up and moving his hand across the area where he got hurt.

"Aaand, I was right!", said Lyrene.

Tails would laugh.

"This here was a lesson in the laws of gravity!", laughed Tails.

"Yeah, very funny, smart-ass!", Sonic responded. "Leave the bad jokes to me now, will ya?"

Sonic would start looking around. They had gotten to the Mystic Ruins. It was all there! The rocky ruins, covered by the lush green grass extending over to the sun! The vegetation completely untouched by man's destructive hand had overgrown, creating a diverse environment, with lakes, jungles and hillside peaks. Sonic walked up to Lyrene.

"So, how about we head out?", he said.

"Ohh...uhh.sure!", she said, being startled by the hedgehog.

They continued to walk, making their way across the grassy peak. They passed up lakes, had crossed cliff after cliff. Eventually they stopped at a large site, right in the middle of a patch of land on the way to Tails' abandoned workshop. Traffic cones and banners were put up everywhere while cranes and bulldozers were lined all over the place, revealing a crater which led deep underground.

"So, how about we head in!", said Tails, as he continued to walk towards the entrance.

"Woah, woah, buddy!", said Sonic, grabbing him by the tail. "I thought you o' all people would'a realized that this big ol' crater over there...it's not the way to go!"

Tails would raise an eyebrow. "I...don't follow…"

"He's right..", Lyrene responds. "I know what you want to say. You must not want to go that way, because the entire cave has already been explored by the research team and whatnot! They've found nothing! Plus, if I've picked up on the way you think, you might not think it's fun, is it Sonic?"

"You're readin' me like an open book! Suspicious….", he responds, before shrugging. "But I don't care!"

Tails would immediately agree with them, before asking his friend.

"So, what do we do now?"

The hedgehog would form a cheeky grin on his face, nudging his head in the direction of a minecart. It was placed on a rusty rail, looking more unsafe and decrepit than anything.

"Oh, if you think I'm gonna ride in that, you--EEEK!", Lyrene says, right before Sonic pushes her right into the minecart.

"Okay, WHAT WAS THAT?!", she says, dusting herself off and looking after the two who were getting inside as well.

"A lil' physical motivation!", he responded, as he closed off the part that acted as some sort of door.

Sonic then reached out to the long lever being placed on the side of the tracks, and started pulling on it. It was kinda hard, as the lever was rusty enough to cause him quite the hard time.

"So, what's supposed to happ-EEN!?", said Lyrene right as the minecart had started to pick up speed, the shift in acceleration startling her.

In front of them laid only the black void of a tunnel, as torches would only light up the smaller portions of their view. The minecart would go faster, and faster, and faster, as Lyrene and Tails would only hear the sound of a minecart speeding through the tunnel, and Sonic's screams of joy and excitement. The hedgehog would lean on the front of the minecart, shifting its weight to the front to speed it up.

As they got further and further along the path, they could see the track opening up to reveal an entire network of other train tracks. They were about to comment on it, but their conversation was cut short. They could hear something like a buzzing sound, as if some sort of over-sized bee or wasp was roaming in the tunnels. Before they could say anything, they were invaded by a swarm of gigantic black and blue striped bee robots would fly after them. They'd scare Tails a bit.

"Eeek! B..Buzz Bombers! S..Sonic, do something!"

"Heh, looks like that ol' egghead is goin' after the time stone as well!", said Sonic as he climbed to the side of the minecart. "Yo Tails, ya didn't forget your arm cannon, did ya?"

A red and orange arm cannon would form on his right arm, seemingly out of nothing.

"Locked and loaded!", Tails responded, with a clear smirk on his face.

Lyrene would search into her satchel, taking out a couple of throwing knives. They would look pretty rough, as if she just stuck together a stick and a sharp rock with a piece of grass, or linen wrap.

She'd start chugging the knives at them, hitting the robots in the head or body. Sonic himself would vault over the edges of the minecart, trying to kick the buzz bombers into the walls. Tails would be doing his best to aim at the robots, but the sheer anxiety would cause him to shiver and miss.

"S..Sonic! I..I.." He'd find it hard to even form sentences. "I...can't hit them!"

"Sure you can, bud!", Sonic said right before being interrupted to kick a robot into the wall. "It kinda confuses me how the hero of Station Square, or how the one who brought down the Bird Armada can't shoot down a couple o' pieces o' scrap!"

"B...But it's not the same!"

Sonic would sigh, vaulting back over the edge and heading to his friend.

"Tails...you're embarassin' yourself! Just try to chill and AIM ALREADY!"

Tails would close his eyes, as tears would start rolling down. He wasn't used to his friend criticising him so harsh. He aimed his arm cannon at the robot, but then he started to have something else in mind.

"You know what? HOW ABOUT NO!", he said, right before lashing at Sonic, grabbing him.

"Hey, what're ya doin'?", he said, as Tails would literally throw him into a robot, as if he were a ball.

Sonic would be fast enough to roll into a ball right before hitting the robot, but after he hit it, he unexplicably started bouncing from wall to wall. Sonic then pretty much crashed into Lyrene, the hit knocking them both out. Tails became mortified.

"Sh..Shoot!" He'd start stuttering more than before, trying to take a deep breath and focus. Right as he was about to shoot his arm cannon, he was put off guard by a Buzz Bomber shooting up a back wheel. Now the cart was unbalanced, leaning a bit to the right. Sparks were flying out of where the wheel was. If that wasn't terrifying enough for Tails, then the fact that some of the sparks had hit some robots, somehow turning them on fire surely sealed the deal.

Tails turned around, as the light at the end of the tunnel slowly started to get closer and closer. He had to act fast.

As he mustered all his courage, by pure luck he managed to shoot a bunch of rocks on the ceiling that were loose. They fell in, the debris effectively trapping the robots inside the tunnel. Tails let out a victory cry, before turning around and stuttering at what was coming right up.

He saw the end of the tunnel, woth tne rails seemingly going up to form some sort of a ramp. Without a second thought, Tails scoffed, grabbing his friend and jumping out of the minecart at the last second. Using his two tails, he spun them around like helicopter blades, slowly floating down at the crash site of the minecart.

He placed the hedgehog and the dire wolf down, looking around to see where he ended up. He was now surrounded by the dark green trees of a rainforest. It was so dense that the fox cub couldn't even see past five, or six trees. He could hear the sounds of birds chirping away and of a river flowing through at a regular pace. He stood down to take his breath, and settle down after his heroic deed.

"U...Uugh…" Tails looked over to his friend, who was now showing signs of life. Tails just walked up to him and playfully poked the hedgehog with a stick. Instinctually, Sonic just grabbed the stick pulling it out of Tails' hands.

He got up, dusting himself off after his friend had been "considerate" enough to place him down in some mud.

"So, what happened n' how'd I end up in this war trench?", he said, using the stick as a toothpick.

Tails then excitedly told Sonic about all that he had done. After that, the hedgehog couldn't help but congratulate his best friend, even going so far as to apologize for yelling at him. Sonic picked up Lyrene and they headed into the jungle.

"Geez, this place's sure hard to navigate. I barely even remember how I managed to make my way through this place back in the day.", said Tails.

"Eh, the fact that Eggman had a base as big n' flashin' as the whole o' Casino Night Zone smack-dab on the other side was a big help!"

They started following the river, while Tails was somewhat annoyed by Sonic, who was humming a swamp rock song. They were looking around just out of amazement, as the place was unbelievably beautiful, even though they've seen it plenty of times.

It was moments like these that made fighting for the planet worth it for Sonic. He loved nature more than anything in the world, and he wasn't going to succumb to some fatso willing to turn it into his personal factory. Nature should be preserved, not 'redesigned'. How could the egghead not see the beauty in all this?

Why does he have to have the final say on how this planet should be? He almost always asked himself this question. How could the old man not see the beauty in it all? One thing was always clear to the hedgehog: let the fatso try, as Sonic will always be there to have his say, and have his say he will!

Eventually, they would be surprised by a giant water lily leaf, floating down the stream. On it, a big round purple cat would be taking a nap.

"Better run through the jung...huh?", said Sonic, as he walked straight into the bank and placed his foot on the lily, stopping it.

"Huh? Why'd you stop, Froggy?", said the cat as it woke up.

"Yo Big! Long time no see!", Sonic waved.

"Huuh? You look familiar…."

"I sure do! Remember the Egg Carrier n' Chaos?"

"Oh!" The cat jumped up. "Sonic! You came to visit!" He then raised his eyebrow. "Who's that on your shoulder? You catch any fish?"

"Heh, it ain't food! It's a friend!"

"Uhh..Big!", said Tails. "Would you mind telling us if you know anything about a rare gem popping around these parts?"

"Oh! Hiya Tails!" said Big, as he flailed his arm around to wave. "Was it that sparkly shiny thing? Yeah, some big buttbrains with cranes and drills showed up near the train station and started digging around!"

"Heh, so ya do know somethin'!", said Sonic.

"What else do ya wanna kno--FROGGY! GEEZ, I THOUGHT HE WAS STILL HANGING ON THE LILY PAD!", said Big, as he started to search around frantically looking for his friend.

"Uhh...buddy, ya still got some directions to give!", said Sonic. "I'd love to help ya find him, but we're behind schedule!"

"Okay, okay", said the purple cat, tempering his nervousness for a bit.

"So Big…", asked Tails. "What do you think is the best place to stsrt looking for the gem? I'm talking about a place the Institute hasn't found yet"

"Oh! I know just the place!", replied Big.

"Go through that pyramid-shrine thing!

The one with the stone in the middle!"

"Heh, I remember that! We owe ya one, pal!", replied Sonic, as they wandered off into the jungle.

As the two amigos made their way towards the center of the jungle. Their brief expedition was cut short by the appearance of a giant robot, with a sculpted chest and a drill and a razor sharp claw for hands. It was using it's excavator hand to slice through the trees, even being strong enough to send them flying into the air. Sonic got annoyed, and he flicked his nose, smirking to hide his anger.

"Well, guess this kinda fun never stops, does it Tails?"

"Let's take him out Sonic!"

Sonic would immediately dash at the robot, trying to boost up his leg. He was still holding Lyrene, so it made it difficult for him to use his trademark Spin-Dash. Meanwhile, Tails would be throwing Ring-shaped bombs at the robot, trying to break through the leg parts' armor. He wasn't careful, as the robot kicked Tails with quite the impact, sending him flying yards away.

"Geez! You made the team, son!", said Sonic to the robot, right before running after Tails.

He boosted through the jungle, looking up to see wherever Tails would land. He'd swing from vine to vine, trying to launch himself as high up as he could. He managed to find a vine long enough that as he grabbed onto it, it started wrapping around a tree branch, gaining enough momentum to send Sonic rocketing into the air. He could see the robot slowly advancing at them, but the only thing his mind was set to was his pal Tails. He tried his best to catch him, but the fox glided into him, causing all three of them to come crashing down into a tree.

"Ghh...guess the apple...or hedgehog...don't fall far from the tree…", said Sonic as he got up, dusting himself off as well as Lyrene, as unconscious as she was.

"Yo buddy! Catch!", he said, as he threw Lyrene at the fox who just got back on his feet.

"Are you planning something, Sonic?", said Tails, catching the dire wolf.

"Ya bet!", he responded, smiling and doing a thumbs up.

He climbed up to the trees, picking up vines and tying them together. He placed knot after knot, as the footsteps of the large robot approaching were like a timer counting down to him. He eventually wrapped part of the vines around his arm, as he zoomed over to the robot. He jumped off the trees, grabbing the robot's leg. He used the vine as a climbing rope, advancing upwards to the robot's head. He used his honed reflexes and speed to dodge any potential drill or claw attacks.

Eventually, he reached the top of the robot. He wrapped the vine around the robot's neck. The robot, confused, started running around, stepping on trees and flora. Sonic was mounting it as if it were a horse!

"Y..ya better have something good up your sleeve!", said Tails, trying his darnest to dodge the robot's steps. They were so powerful they caused small earthquakes, causing Tails to stagger every few seconds. He was throwing bombs again, trying to get the robot to stay in one place and to avoid anymore flora (and even fauna. Yikes!).

The robot eventually came to it's senses. It reached the claw up to it's neck, trying to cut off the vines all around it. Within the next second, Sonic found himself crashing into the ground. This time, he was lucky, as at the last second, his best friend had caught him in mid-air, using his helicopter blades-like Tails to hover. They floated down, Sonic fist-bumping his friend for the great rescue. Right next to them, the head of the robot crashed into the river stream. Turns out that while it cut Sonic's vine using its scissor-like claw, it also caught its entire head in its grasp, slicing it clean off.

Out fell a small audio chip, with speakers attached. The hedgehog picked it up.

"Okay, Ground-Hog! Here's what you have to do exactly now!", said the voice coming through the communicator. "Now that you've had your fun, hear me out! If I can't find the entrance, I'll just have to CUT and MAKE myself one!"

The voice was incredibly familiar to Sonic. He leaned in, using the speaker as a microphone.

"Sorry boss, but it looks like some harsh weather conditions 're screwin' up our

work! It's a lil' cloudy, with a chance of blue blur!"

"WHAT?!?! NO, YOU LITTLE! WHY NOW?! HOW DID YOU FIND ME?!"

"Well, it wasn't hard. I ain't the one with the literal sense o' grandure!", he said, whilst kicking the robot head. "Mark my words, Egghead! For as long as I breathe, ya won't get to ruin one patch o' grass off this beautiful planet, y'hear me?"

"YOU WISH! YOU'RE NOT GONNA STOP ME THIS TIME, YOU IMPERTINENT RODENT! THE TIME STO--"

The voice slowly distorted, as Sonic had crushed the speaker and the sound chip.

As he looked into the distance, he saw tree after tree fall, creating an open path through the jungle straight toward the pyramid. Right behind him, egg-pawns wearing lumberjack hat and axes would reveal themselves. Sonic growled like a wild animal, rushing at them and letting their bodies hit the floor in miliseconds.

"S...Sonic…..? You're a little harsh, pal!', said Tails at his friend who was now clenching his fist in anger.

"They've destroyed this jungle, so I'll destroy them!", said Sonic in a serious manner. "Ugh, ya know how much these lumps o' metal disgust me! I wish they'd all

rust in a scrapyard!"

"Geez...I've always been telling you not to hate on technology! Just because some people wish to use it for their own gain and destruction, it doesn't mean that it doesn't have any good uses!", replied Tails.

Sonic would be silent, not responding to his friend which made a pretty good point.

He leaned over to Lyrene, taking off his glove and collecting some water from the river stream in it. Right after that, he poured all the water on the dire wolf's face, as she sprung to life.

"WHY'D YOU DO THAT?!?!", she angrily asked.

"...it looked fun. Plus, it might be 4 years overdue, but an Ice Bucket Challenge is always cool."

They all looked over to the pyramid. The only one not gazing was Lyrene, staring at all the destruction and the robot head staring up at the sky.

"I'm not eeeven...gonna ask.", she said.

"Hm...well let's get movin'. Stone's not gonna find itself!", said Sonic as they headed in.

"Wa..wait..We're heading in there?", said Lyrene, clearly not getting an answer. "Answer me!"

As the three of them approached the temple, Tails started to speak his mind through exposition: "The Great Echidna Shrine! This monunent hasn't been explored in 4000 years! It was abandoned after the Echidna Clan was destroyed by Perfect Chaos."

"Cut the chit-chat, Tails!", said the blue boi. "How's about we go in, eh?"

"Just….we're going in there?", said Lyrene pretty concerned.

"Yeah! It seems fun!", replied Sonic.

She sighed.

"Fine, lead the way hedgehog.."

They then head into the ruins, not knowing of the particular dangers that lay ahead.

They don't know what, or who they are going to come across….

….except that it knows. It knows it's going to come across them!

 **Deep into the ruins, there lays an abandoned marble throne. Surrounded by waterfalls of lava, it springs to life as a purple aura envelops it. Right then and there, some pieces of linen wrap snap together, forming some sort of a humanoid echidna-like being. It hold a rotten, maggot-infested wooden scepter, with some sort of bright, silver-glowing orb.**

 **They've intruded on his home, and he doesn't like it!**


	3. Chapter 3: Grim reminder of the macabre

As the blue hedgehog was grinding down a corroded and narrow stone rail, his cheeky smile was now replaced with the face of a man lost in his own thoughts. His friends have vanished right before his very eyes, and as he reached deeper into the shrine, his mind was only centered on finding them.

"Damn, it happened again! Why do I get so careless when I'm havin' fun?", the hedgehog thought. "It always happens! I start feelin' the good ol' tingles I feel when I'm on a cool adventure, then the next second somethin' goes wrong because I'm way too confident!"

As he reached the end of the pillar, the hedgehog leaped into the air, curling into a ball and landing on a platform, striking a pose. He got up, looking around the place. The room he was in was dimly lit, and water was covering the ground, rising only up to his feet. Pillars of stone would reach from the floor, tall enough to reach the ceiling tens of feet above him.

As he slowly started to speed up, he was startled by the attack of what looked like a rusty, ancient robot. It looked more like an automaton, like a wander of engineering than a wonder of coding and modern technology, with a steampunk aesthetic. At the sight of him, Sonic's smile reappeared, as he rushed in to attack it's center, destroying it and admiring the sound of metal dropping on the floor, as if it were music to his ears.

He quickly turned around and boosted through a narrow corridor, just a few feet above ground level. The corridor he was running through was only getting more and more narrow, with ramps, ups and downs making this pathway a little harder to follow. At the end of it, Sonic passed up a ramp, which sent him flying into the air, and as he looked below him he could see a bottomless pit. Sonic gasped for a bit, before reaching the other side of the ravine, and quickly dashing forward.

The room he was in was even darker, and the hedgehog knew he had to step carefully as to avoid any traps and draw unwanted attention. Using nothing but his sense of smell and hearing, the speedster seemingly walked through with care, taking it a little slower than usual. He would stop at the sound of just water drops dripping down from above.

The hedgehog had always hated moments like these. Moments in which he had to stop and actually let his mind act instead of his feet. Surely, with enough patience, he had managed to find a room, proceeding to the next chamber. As he walked through, he'd noticed a few torches light up, to reveal what seemed to be a giant water tank, with water filled up just below the platform he was on!

"I have to run on THIS?!", Sonic thought, as his innate hydrophobia had started to kick in and get him to panic. Fortunately, he didn't stick to this poor plan for long, as from beneath the deep waters some sort of giant stone snake had reached up, swimming it's way across the room, cautiously sinking itself into the water at certain points. As the hedgehog looked around him, he couldn't help but notice the other door, placed on a platform above him, right on the other side of this room. He only smirked, his eyes lighting up as his mind had thought up a pretty basic, but effective plan.

He started running in place, his legs seemingly curling up into some sort of after-image circles, as the hedgehog prepared his famous Figure-8 technique. He eventually accelerated, going from zero to a hundred in virtually no time. He leaped into the air, backflipping and trying to crash into the massive stone snake slithering around in the water. He barely missed, and had he not grabbed onto the marble scale on the side of the snake, he'd be sinking into the pool for sure.

With a smile on his face, the hedgehog clinged on for dear life as the snake tried to shake him off. Time after time, Sonic had to hold his breath, as the snake headed underwater and came back, leaving him with little room to breathe. Eventually, Sonic got up, still holding onto the snake. He ran across its body, reaching the head, and as he tried to jump to the platform he was aiming for...something happened. The snake had moved it's head, leaving Sonic with nothing to run on.

Eventually, Sonic found himself grabbing onto the tongue of the snake, having been caught in its mouth.

"Not today, pal!", Sonic shouted. "This ain't one o' those fanfics."

He got up, holding onto the tongue, and in just a couple of seconds, he launched himself out, landing on the platform. He boosted through the corridor, as he heard the rumbling sound of a giant boulder rolling after him. Sonic would turn around and smirk, as it had just gotten a little more interesting for him.

He was dashing off a steep downward path, and he could hear the boulder hurling after him faster and faster, as it picked up speed. Sonic tried to limit himself, but his excitement kept driving him forward, eventually accelerating more and more. It came to a ramp, which would launch the blue blur over a giant ravine, whose bottom was obstructed by the darkness. After he crossed it, he could just hear the sound of the boulder hitting the marble ground, crashing into it.

The shock of the impact managed to get the entire floor to crumble after Sonic. He got cocky, thinking he could outrun it just by doing a light jog, but no. He found out that his smirk had turned into regret then a bit of fright as he stopped feeling the ground beneath his feet. He started falling into the seemingly endless pit. The fear started to envelop his body, the cold sensation almost making it seem like he was freezing. He then felt his entire body stiffening, as he had difficulty moving. He seemingly….stopped in mid-air. He could then notice a purple, mistifying aura glowing out of his hands and feet. It would rise up on his arms and legs, and he'd then see it envelop his entire body.

"What the heck is g...goin' on?", the hedgehog said to himself. He was so scared that even his inner voice was stuttering. "A...ARE THE PIECES OF THE WALL BREAKING OFF?". His mind wasn't playing tricks on him. Large chunks of the stone walls were rushing at him, and the only thing the hedgehog could do was flinch and grind his teeth. As the stones were inches away from hitting him in the face, he could feel them...passing through him. They were transparent, sure, but Sonic's vision was still blinded as if he were right inside of them. He could then see his vision distort, the edges of what he could see stretching out in front of him, and he could hear a whisper cloud his thoughts.

"W...WHAT THE?!?", he said, slowly losing his cool. "W...what are you sayin'?"

The whisper would grow louder and louder. Out of the gibberish, he started to make out more and more of what he was hearing.

"Heeedge...hog", the whisper would say. "You...are threading on sacred ground. Return now….or this shall be your burial ground."

A purple screen was flashing in his eyes, soon the purple-ish color being all that he could see.

He eventually found his hands strapped to some cuffs. The cuffs were chained to the ground, and something was...off… They looked as if they were made of magma, molded around to take the form of handcuffs and chains. What was even more peculiar was how even though the magma was touching his wrists, he felt no burning sensation.

He looked up, only to see a throne and what looked like a mummy sitting atop of it. From the walls behind it, he could notice two waterfalls of magma pouring down from above, forming two flowing rivers of lava that lit up the otherwise dark chamber. The red tint of light given off by them showed off an ominous look.

"Sonic...the hedgehog!", the figure said as he got up from its throne. "You...have trespassed on holy grounds, and disturbed the sanctity of this sacred place."

The figure continued to walk up to him.

"You sicken me!", it said, as a rotten, wooden scepter with maggots coming out of it was forming in its hand. It had a white, pearl-like gem embedded into the top of it, the wood curved around it. He put the part with the pearl under Sonic's chin, lifting his head up so he can stare the mummy right in its eye sockets.

"WHAT SAY YEEE, IN YOUR DEFENSE, TOMB DEFILER?", he shouted right in his face.

"Th...that...I...I've been here before. Ya didn't bother to come after me back then, did ya?"

"Pffh…", the figure said. "I merely allowed your passing as a pilgrimage to the Chaos Mural. It was vital you understood as to keep the past from repeating itself! Now, you show up to our home, completely uninvited and with no goal whatsoever!"

Sonic tried to answer, but before he did something caught his attention. He saw...Tails and Lyrene! They were binded with the same chains, but unlike him they were dangling above the lava waterfalls.

"M...my friends!", Sonic shouted. "B..bud...let 'em go...It's mostly my fault we're here to begin with…"

"In due time, hedgehog.", the figure said. "Now, I give you an ultimatum! Turn back, and run out of this temple, or stay here, and suffer at the hands of the proud Echidna Army!"

Sonic would raise an eyebrow. The Echidna Army? But they've been destroyed by Perfect Chaos thousands of years ago. This little tidbit of food for thought made him not focus on his fear for a while.

"But, I thought the Echidnas were taken down by Chaos years ago!"

The linen wrap surrounding the mummy's face would fold around to form a smile.

"Oh, are we?", said the mummy with its old man-like voice, and using a sarcastic tone.

Out of nowhere, around the ground they were standing on, different bones would pop out, forming some skeletons of old echidnas. They would walk forward, forming a circle around Sonic and the mummy. The mummy had gotten pretty close to Sonic.

"I'll have yee know that the Echidna Clan is not only alive, but stronger than ever bef--GAH!"

He didn't get to finish his sentence, as the blue hedgehog had headbutted the mummy right in the chest, causing it to stagger, and his chains to melt away.

Immediately, the skeletons would rush at him, as the hedgehog would do nothing but keep boosting forward. He thought that if his chains melted, so did his friends'. He ran forward, enveloped in that blue distinctive aura that pushed the skeletons away, even decomposing them into bones.

He ran up the wall, even jumping over the waterfalls of lava. He eventually caught his two friends in his arms, before stomping on the mummy leader right as it reformed.

He placed them down, getting them ready to fight.

"Gee..Sonic…", said Tails. "If you'd have come sooner, maybe my wrists wouldn't be as sore!"

"Eh, you really needed a break from bein' grounded in reality!", the hedgehog replied.

Tails would facepalm himself. Lyrene would be shivering in fear, but would take out some sort of refined coal sword. She would take out a match and light it on fire.

"A flamin' sword? Daaamn, that's real cool! Oxymoron unintended!", said Sonic.

"Hey! Here's someone with a knack for the flashier things in life!", said Lyrene, responding to the compliment.

That way, the three of them started to deal with the skeletons. Tails would be using his trademark arm cannon, and at some points smaking bones with his tails. Lyrene would be rocking that flaming sword, along with the cheap throwing knives. Sonic would punch and kick his way through whatever lunged at them.

"Die! Die for your foolishness!", screamed the mummy lord, as he used the scepter to call on different pieces of marble to lunge at the trio.

Little by little, they all made their way through the horde of fleshless echidna soldiers. The only problem was that they kept getting up.

"So, is nobody gonna do something about the fact that we aren't putting one dent in them?", asked Lyrene.

"Normally I'd have a risky, half-baked plan up my sleeve", answered the hedgehog. "But, y'know...I'm an expert in heaps o' metal, not piles o' bones!"

He looked to Tails, rubbing his fingers on his chin to think.

"Y'all heard about the fight or flight instinct?", he asked.

"Uhh..yeah", said Tails, trying to multi-task between answering and kicking calcium butt. "It's triggered whenever the human body is put in a situation in which adrenaline is pumped into its body!"

Sonic would nod in approval. "We've tried fightin'. Let's stick to runnin'! Yo Tails, I need you to throw out your bombs like a madman!"

"What for?", asked Lyrene.

"Welp, explosions cause fire, n' fire gives us light. This'll not only distract the anorexic antagonists, but it'll also light up the place 'nough for me to look for an exit!"

Tails would nod as a sign of understanding. He'd take out some bombs from god knows where, and start chugging them at the robots! Lyrene would also help, as the bombs were durable enough for her to use the long, unsharp part of her sword in the middle to hit the bombs like tennis balls. That way, they made extra sure the bombs hit where they had to. As bombs blew up, Sonic made extra sure to run around the blast radius, using the light generated to look for an exit.

After a few good minutes of searching, his face lit up as he noticed a cracked, weakened, deteriorated place in one of the walls above them. Without hesitation, he rushed to his friends, grabbing them by the hand.

"Let's make it! Triple boost!"

The three of them were enveloped in a blue, jet-like aura. It was similar to Sonic's during a Mach Boost. They all rushed through the skeletons, slowly heading up the wall. Lyrene would grind her teeth, as the high speed coupled with the unsafety of what was going on was scaring her a bit. Eventually, Sonic looked at Tails as they reached the crack in the wall. Tails nodded, understanding what his friend wanted to do without using any words. The hedgehog lifted both of his friends upward, and Tails rushed to catch Lyrene, using his twin tails to keep them in the air. While in mid-flight, Sonic used his momentum to spin-dash, combining that with his Boost ability to smash through the wall. He miscalculated though, as he then found himself falling face first into what seemed like a big flowing river of lava.

"Sonic! Catch!", said Tails, using his free hand to reach for something.

Sonic would then grab some sort of box. He clicked a button, and out of nowhere the trademark Extreme Gear hoverboard popped out, unfolding itself in place. As he was grabbing onto it, his face let out a huge grin. He splashed onto the surface of the lava starting to skate on it.

"Man, this is amazin'!", said Sonic, as he screamed in excitement.

"Should'a brought a spare for myself...", said Tails, who was starting to pant. He started to get winded, as his tails started spinning slower.

"A...ARE YOU NUTS?!?!?", said Lyrene, still holding Tails' hand as he lost altitude. "YOU'RE GONNA BURN US ALIVE!"

Tails eventually threw Lyrene off. As she was screaming and her entire life was flashing right before her very eyes, she landed on a piece of the stone wall that had fallen into the lava. Tails would fall onto it as well, leaning down and gasping with his hand on his heart.

As Sonic surfed onto the lava, he noticed how in the distance there was some sort of vortex formed, pulling everything down. It was all caused by some sort of giant machine, sucking all of the lava up like an oversized vacuum. He would immediately notice the insignia on it.

"Awe...shoot…", said Tails, now regaininf his stamina. "I...forgot to mention."

The marble platform Tails and Lyrene would be surfing on got closer, but still behind Sonic.

"While you were running off earlier, I...sorta...found out that Eggman had followed us in…", he continued.

"Hm, don't surprise me…", Sonic replied.

"Apparently, he has access to the same Com-Pack Technology I used to store your hoverboard in, but on a much grander scale!"

Sonic would get an idea.

"A'ight, pal! Looks like I've got a date with an egg man who's scrambled in the head!"

He'd point to the platform at the top of the machine.

"Guess you guys 're gonna have to keep searchin' for the stone!", he continued.

"I...uh...suppose…", Lyrene replied.

And so, after a final thumbs up, Sonic speeds up on the hoverboard, jumping into the air and falling headfirst into the vortex. He kept a smile on his face throughout it all.

Above the machine itself, purple lightning was lighting up the place. A ray of purple energy with a rocket-shaped end was boosting down after Sonic. Right as he got into Tails' and Lyrene's line of sight, the purple energy dissipated. It revealed….a near identical copy of Sonic. Same quills, and same purple quills.

"M….METAL SONIC!", screamed out Tails.

Metal would then fire an energy ball at Tails' stone platform, destroying it. Luckily, Tails had managed to grab onto Lyrene and fly up to the machine. Metal had been falling into tbe vortex, following the blue hedgehog.

"Well, as you scrap 'bot would put it...I guess the fun's about to sta..ta...tart!", said Sonic, immitating the glitching of a robot.

 **They both fell into the vortex, getting ready for another one of their iconic battles! Sonic was getting back into his usual cocky nature, as Metal Sonic was trying his best to stand up against his adversary and duplicate.**


End file.
